["And I'm breaking out, escaping now,
feeling my faith erode."]
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A/N - i'm gonna start rewriting chapters 1-13, but major things won't change, so up-to-date readers don't need to worry. keep in mind that the details i'll be changing are: y/n will have gone to UA after summer break, what i tell of his past and how i tell it (though his past will remain the same), minor details- so the story's told better, the whole chisaki thing (how they first meet, and what happens at the raid), and i'll be revising the whole 'ur a villain' thing w iida (but it'll still be the same as a whole, just minor details will be edited).
A/N - sometimes the songs don't mean shit, but for some of them (especially 20 n 21), it's relevant to the story
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[L/N Y/N]
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The door opened slowly. I quickly shut the lid to my laptop. "L/N, it's us, can we join y--"
Midoriya gasped, Tenya rushed over to me. "Y/N, are you oka--"
I laughed. Then I couldn't stop laughing. The other two were dead silent, as was the gym apart from my laughter. I, still laughing, grabbed my laptop and my bag and stood up. I walked out.
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[MIDORIYA IZUKU]
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L/N bumped shoulders with me as he walked away. He was still cracking up as he walked out of view.
"What do you think happened to L/N?" I looked over at Iida. He had his palm against the burn marks on the floor.
"His arms were really warm, and there was a small bit of smoke coming from his hands. Something must have caused him to get incredibly upset."
"It probably had something to do with what was on his computer. Should we go talk to him?"
"I think he'd want to be alone right now."
"Should we train without him?"
Iida nodded, setting his bag against the wall.
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[L/N Y/N]
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"Hey, L/N! Did you see Iida and Midoriya? They said they were gonna go train with you."
I nodded and hurried into my room. I set my laptop on my desk and walked into the bathroom. I wiped the sweat off my neck with a towel and ran a bath. As I got into the tub, I sighed.
The USB stick labeled 'ARE' only had one file on it. It was a long video. It had clips from what looked like dash cams and security cameras. The main focus of the video was Aizawa Shota- my homeroom teacher, Eraserhead.
The first clip replayed in my head as I sunk deeper into the tub.
"Sorry we had to call you out here, Eraser, but the kid's known to use his quirk violently. And 'cause he used to fight in one of those underground quirk fighting clubs, we thought he'd be a real hazard to face head on."
"It's fine."
"Ya sure?"
"Work's work."
"You think we shouldn't have let Kinashi shoot him? I mean, he shot a kid. Probably only a third-year in middle scho--"
"His age shouldn't matter. If he hadn't been killed, he could've gone on to cause lots of trouble. He's a kid, so the law favors him a bit more, but jail wouldn't have fixed him. He's too deep in that type of stuff."
"So yer saying it's good he's dead?"
"Yeah, he was a lost cause anyway. You have to think about those he's harmed. He only died because jail didn't make him repent."
The first clip was a from what looked the a police car's dash cam. It was of a conversation between an officer and Eraserhead.
The second clip was from a classroom's security camera. UA had installed security camera's a few weeks after the dormitory system was implemented. It was from the day Tenya got his 'talking to' because he called me a villain. Aizawa had told him to pretend that he was shaken up after their conversation, to pretend that Aizawa had said something to him that really made him reflect on his actions, to try to get closer to me to gain my trust because I'm a 'ticking time bomb' and it's best that I have someone in the class to help keep me under control.
The third and final clip was a video of a room I kind of recognized, but couldn't remember where I recognized it from. The room was messy, book and clothes thrown everywhere. The furniture and walls looked really expensive and elegant. And their was a monitor in the middle of the room that was playing static. The screen turned bright white, then the word 'ARE' appeared on the monitor in a fancy, black font.
I sunk deeper into the tub, so that all but my face was underwater. There are probably more videos like that to come. I wonder who's going to be in the next video. I wonder why the person is showing me that stuff. I wonder how I'll react next time. I wonder how I'll act next time I see Aizawa. I wonder
I wonder if Tenya will be in the next video.
I closed my eyes and fully submerged my head in the water.
It was late by the time I got out of the bathtub. Before dinner, but still, it had been a few hours.
There was a disgusting smell coming from the drawer under my desk. I opened it to find an insanely rotten box of chocolates. The chocolates were way past their expiration date, and the box looked like it had been buried under a mountain of dirt. The box was black and had a black ribbon. Under the tray that held the chocolates, a USB stick with the word 'YOU' written on it.
I hid the USB under my mattress and took my trash can, along with the box of chocolates, to the bins outside.
'ARE' and 'YOU'... it's probably a message, a question, maybe.
As I walked back into the 1-A dormitory, was reminded of the note I got yesterday.
'MURDERER'
Maybe it and the USBs are connected? Whoever sent the flowers and the chocolates probably knew about whoever called me a murderer and are sending the USBs to help me narrow down my suspect list. But from what I saw in the last video, I doubt it's Aizawa, so it's probably one of my classmates-
'To help me'? Why am I assuming the person that sent the USBs is trying to help me? Is it because they look better compared to whoever called me a murderer?
As I thought of all of they ways these videos were probably going to get to me psychologically, I plugged the second flash drive into my computer. I pressed 'play'.
The first clip started with the camera faced towards the ground, recording outside of a classroom. The camera pulled up, an open window allowed the conversation to be heard from outside the classroom. It was my classroom. You could see Aizawa sitting at his desk, Uraraka, Midoriya, and Tenya all standing in front of him.
"--alled you three here because I'd like to ask you to continue making an effort to befriend L/N Y/N. It's important for an unstable person to have lots of people by their side so that they don't isolate themselves during their time in a new environment."
"...We understand, sir."
"All right, you three may go."
As Uraraka, Midoriya, and Tenya walked out of the classroom, you could hear Uraraka whisper, "...The way Sensei talked about L/N was kind of scary..." Then Midoriya whispered something back.
Then you could hear Uraraka say, "What if he does something to us? Like he gets mad or something and we- I'm kind of scared of him, to be honest...or at least, he makes me uncomfortable now..."
The same ending clip played as it did in the last video, but the word 'ARE' was replaced with 'YOU'. The video ended. It was shorter than the previous one. But I feel like the intent was to give me a big cup full of cement in one sitting rather than little teaspoons over a longer period of time. I understand that if you hear the side of the story from someone who isn't my number one fan, it could turn into a bit of a scary story. But it scared her enough to be uncomfortable around me? To be scared of me? Unless she's an award winning actress, it's crazy how I never felt any sort of wall between us. It's never felt like an act.
If I turned over every single rock in my head, I can't find a single moment when I felt like she was uncomfortable around me, or distancing hereself.
She can't be scared of me. She can't be. She would've told me. She would've slipped up, her act would be dropped at least once if she were actually scared of me. She would've told me. She would've come clean about it. She would've acted differently if she were scared. She wouldn't get mad at me, or be vulnerable around me. She wouldn't have done anything that could set me off, or that I could've used to mess with her. She isn't scared of me. Why would she be so close with me if she was?
She isn't scared of me- And even if she was, I doubt she would have coped by calling me a murderer. Midoriya wouldn't have either, he's all about saving anyone and everyone. And I doubt he's scared of me, I doubt he'd act a certain way just because Aizawa asked.
Uraraka has a strong sense of justice, as does most UA students. Tenya might've been shaken up by the fact that I was friends with Shigaraki, because he's seen us in a room together. But, unless it is all an act, I doubt he'd call me a murderer. A while ago, when he called me a villain, it was because Hero Killer: Stain- who had harmed Tenya's brother -had made him for a short period of time just see the 'harming people' part and not the motive behind it. Tenya's definitely changed and grown since then... So who thinks I'm a murderer?
"L/N," someone knocked on my door. "It's your night to make dinner."
"I'll be down in a second."
"'Kay." They walked away.
When I got downstairs, I realized something: I'm able to solve things out rationally, but in the moment, things can disappear within seconds. I avoided eye contact with my classmates as I walked to the kitchen. I flinched at the sound of Uraraka's or Midoriya's voice. My head started to hurt when I saw Tenya. I tilted my head down as I walked.
To my relief, I wasn't on cooking duty with either of them. I was on cooking duty with Ashido. She asked what I wanted to make, I said I was fine with whatever. We started cooking. I cooked the meat. She cut the vegetables. We made dinner.
When we finished setting the table, she told everyone that dinner was ready.
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[???]
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[Months ago, during the summer.]
A man walked into a room, with three people behind him. The first man sat down, the other three remained standing.
"In a few months, I will either be arrested, or All Might will die." He put his feet on the table in front of him. "If I am arrested, my successor will start to experience the world without my hand on his shoulder, guiding him where to go."
The man coughed, then continued, "I have a back up successor, he's still a student. And he may end up being comfortable at the school he will be attending. He may end up making friends. They may end up making him see heroes in a different light, or see himself in a different light. They may make him relax on big things like 'choosing a side', because I know he's most likely going to be extremely conflicted once he hears about Tomura again." He sat up a bit straighter, taking his feet off of the table, leaning forward so he was looking directly at the other three people. "If he has any newfound grievances after going to that school, like he meets someone he hates, I'd prefer that he handles it before our plan starts. So, I'd like it if you keep a close eye on him. After that, he might feel relieved that he doesn't have any problems he needs to immediately think about. I don't want him to become complacent. He will be able to see through our plan quickly, understanding that none of the people I want you to pose as will be the one who sends the note, but it will still make him uneasy. Uncomfortable. We want him to go to someone, ask them about it, but not have the guts to show the proof when they deny things. Slowly make him see our Tomura as his rock."
The man laced his fingers together, resting his elbows on his knees as he leaned further forward. "Read the files I've given you and follow my instructions to a T. I believe you should understand that unprofessionalism is not welcome. Any questions or concerns should be submitted to me within a week."
"Yes, sir. We thank you for giving us the opportunity to help you." The three bowed and walked out.
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[URARAKA OCHAKO]
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L/N was really quiet during dinner.